//------------------------------// // Grey and White // Story: Mother X: Father // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Moondancer let Alinivar take the lead around town, following him as he wandered this way and that. Sometimes he engaged citizens in conversation. Sometimes he rooted around in trash cans, or opened wrapped gift boxes. She could only assume he knew where he was going, or was guided by a higher power that did. Considering he often followed seeming dead end paths to useful items in places he had no possible way of knowing something was there...he was either a natural at adventuring, or being guided by a force that knew what it was doing. Moondancer decided to assume the former, as she didn't like the idea of Alinivar being directly guided by the Apple of Enlightenment, the only 'higher power' she could believe would be involved in this instance. However, some things he did left her completely baffled. On finding a pendant that her PSI told her warded off some PSI powers, he refused to wear it and a pair of Shades at the same time...despite the fact they were worn on completely different parts of his body whether he was disguised or not. While she could accept the claim 'they clashed' as a fashionable choice, it didn't really fit the adventuring mindset considering the Shades seemed to contain latent PSI energy that boosted physical abilities. Eventually, she decided not to think about it, and hope they got back to finding the Apple soon. ...she then began to feel depressed that she was eager to continue the quest that seemed to have only her Father's death as its logical conclusion. The only distraction from that proved to be the occasional attacking hippie or stop sign they had to fight off. A kindly woman allowed them to take a map since they seemed lost, which showed them they were in Thunderton. The only other town shown on the map that they could get to was to the west, called Cloudvale. "So...is that where we're going?" Moondancer asked Alinivar curiously. "Probably," Alinivar confirmed. "I...I don't feel the Apple anywhere around here." Unfortunately, attempts to move West were blocked by police officers and a roadblock, who - despite obvious corruption at wanting a huge bribe to get by - Alinivar decided they shouldn't attack to force their way past. Moondancer found it rather inefficient, but went along with the group as they made their way instead into the Piggsnout Tower in the center of Thunderton. With a bit of help from a local and a delivered package, the group was able to get into the Tower rather easily...save for a rather odd moment when the receptionist wanted to register 'the one behind you', and refused to explain beyond that. However, she apparently got the answer she wanted, and sent them up the tower. Moving up the tower, they encountered a room offering a 'Free PSI Test'. Inside were devices that Moondancer readily recognized as a means of measuring PSI potential. Of course, they were designed to test ones ability to learn PSI, and use by someone who already knew how to tap that power would overload such a device. As such, she was amused if unsurprised when the one administering the test was startled out of his chair when the device exploded. They were then ordered to report directly to No. 10, whoever that was, at the top of the tower. Halfway up the building, Alinivar led them into a room with large V's on either side. Inside was dark, and filled with training dummies that resembled a kid in a striped shirt wearing a backpack and red baseball cap. Though she didn't recognize the figure, Moondancer felt she should...and the sight of these dummies looking like him used for training made her sick to her stomach, for some obscure reason. Noticing her upset, Alinivar quickly led the way back out of the room and up the tower. It wasn't long after that before they reached the top, and entered the guarded room. Once inside, Moondancer thanked all her lucky stars for her disguise that hid her reaction. Right there was Greyface himself, sitting on a couch. To his left was a spider-like mech. To his right was a Mr. Saturn shaped machine that seemed important. To either side of the room were six iron pencil statues and four more dummies...only this time, Moondancer found she knew the names. Ness...Paula...Jeff...Poo... She struggled to get ahold of herself, eventually simply curling up until Alinivar picked her up and carried her. She then blocked out her surroundings, hoping this wouldn't last long. Much faster than she anticipated, Alinivar was setting her back down. "What happened?" she asked curiously. "We had a stroke of luck," Zarbol explained from his balloon. "Greyface pointed us straight to the Apple, and gave us a way to get past the cops so we can get to Cloudvale." Moondancer sighed in relief. "Good. The sooner we're out of here, the better." "And there's no reason we need to give him the Apple once we have it..." Alinivar murmured in agreement. The group wasted no time making their way past the cops to the west. This led to crossing a long bridge...though a rather gross man doing his best not to let his nose run - and failing miserably - attempted briefly to stall their progress. As the group prepared for battle, Moondancer pointed to how close the edge of the suspension bridge was. "Do you think he can swim?" she asked Alinivar curiously. Smirking, Alinivar grasped the man and simply hurled him off the bridge, then continued on their way. At the other end of the bridge was a set of lifts on ropes leading up into the cliffs above. As they rode, Moondancer made her way to the window and looked out...only to stare in awe. While she'd often looked out the windows of the spaceship growing up, that had always been the dead expanse of the starscape. While she'd always known the stars had more life than she could see, space was just so empty. The majesty of that view had always been tainted by the knowledge that the glass she leaned against was all that stood between life and painful death out amongst the stars. Here, though...here the majestic expanse of a planet was laid out before her. The view to the east only showed her Thunderton, but glancing out any of the other windows showed her a vast ocean, soaring mountains, verdant grasslands and lush forests. She saw life in all its glory for the first time in her life...and she loved it! "Do you think we can explore a bit before we go?" she asked hopefully. Alinivar chuckled softly. "Well, we need to get the Apple...but after that, it'll still take a while before the ship is fixed. I think we can squeeze in a...I believe humans call it a 'nature hike' or two?" Grinning eagerly, Moondancer threw herself at Alinivar in a fond embrace.